ORIENT BAY – The Our Land Matters initiative held its first rally last Sunday in the Boo Boo Jam area. The rally was a mixture of speakers calling citizens of Saint Martin to unite and stand for their rights. Echoing at what was once an area for locals to congregate and enjoy Saint Martin was the need to re-open Boo Boo Jam Saint Martin style. The rally drew a large crowd that listened keenly to the words of local activists, grass root Saint Martiners and long standing Boo Boo Jam patrons who are concerned by what is taking place on…
Author: The Publisher
GREAT BAY – Victor Albert R. celebrated his 82nd birthday on Tuesday but this was not a happy occasion, because he is detained in the Pointe Blanche prison. “I cannot take another day of this,” he told judge Dirk Gruijters yesterday in the Court in First Instance. “I cannot stay another day in prison. Give me house arrest instead.” His wife and co-suspect Irene F. (56) also asked the court to suspend her detention, but the court did not grant these requests. The suspects remain behind bars until at least the handling of their case that was postponed until December…
WILLEMSTAD – The Supreme Electoral Council (SEC) held its first briefing today at 12 o’clock. According to Pacheco Römer, chairman of the SEC, up until that moment, 21,571 people voted which represents about 20% of the total voters on the island. “This is a good sign because normally this is 12 to 15%,” said Römer during the briefing. By 4 p.m. 52,380 people had voted – roughly 48.5 percent, representing as good turnout. Voting ended at 7 p.m. and the SEC expected the first results around 7.30 p.m. The prison was the first to announce its results. This year the SEC kept…
GREAT BAY – The total recount of the votes of the September 26 elections did not reveal any shocking differences with the preliminary outcome, or it must be that UP-candidate Tamara Leonard caught up with Jules James for the fifth sweat of the party by evening the score at 207 votes. Because Leonard is ranked higher on the list, she gets the seat, but James could still become an MP again if any of the higher ranked UP-candidates, like Franklin Meyers or Dr. Lloyd Richardson become ministers in the new government. The UP ended with 4,130 votes as the largest…
GREAT BAY – The University of St. Martin hosted the USM Preparatory Program (PRE-USM) class of 2016 Graduation Ceremony in the presence of Minister Silveria Jacobs (Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs). The minister had encouraging words to the graduates and stressed the importance for programs such as the PRE-USM program, which guides young people in taking steps to obtain their tertiary education degree by enrolling in a college or university. President of the University of St. Maarten Foundation Valerie Giterson-Pantophlet applauded the graduates for taking the necessary steps to accomplish their ultimate goal which is becoming a college educated…
GREAT BAY – Finance Minister Richard Gibson and Public Health Minister Emil Lee have put out a public tender for a second review of the strategic business plan for the St. Maarten Medical Center, version 3.0. Bids must be submitted no later than Friday, October 14 at noon. The same day, at 12.30 p.m., bids will be opened and checked for admissibility. The contract will be awarded by October 21. The tender is part of efforts to get approval from financial supervisor Cft for the financing of the new hospital, SZV-director Glen Carty said. Part of the conditions the Cft…
GREAT BAY – TelEm Group announced yesterday the signing of a purchase agreement to take over ownership of St. Maarten Cable TV from its present owner Innovative. Negotiations resulting in the purchase agreement were conducted by the TelEm Group Partnering Committee along with telecommunication merger and acquisition specialists. The announcement is being made simultaneously to St. Maarten Cable TV personnel and TelEm Group personnel following months of negotiation and an intense due diligence process under a strict confidentiality agreement. TelEm Group Chief Financial Officer Helma Etnel, said the company is “extremely pleased” with the signing of this purchase agreement since…
GREAT BAY – The Court in First Instance sentenced restaurateur Dino Jagtiani and Dino’s Corporation yesterday each to a fine of $80,550 for tax fraud. Jagtiani also has to do 100 hours of community service, or spend 50 days in prison. Since 2005, Jagtiani operated a restaurant in St. Maarten under the name Rare. He is the sole shareholder of Dino’s Corporation. Allard Stamm of Standard Trust wrote a franchise agreement for the restaurateur, because, so he told the court, he wanted to set up a franchise network. On August 23, 2005, Dino’s Corporation entered into a franchise agreement with…
GREAT BAY – Formateur William Marlin will submit the paperwork of the ministers for his new cabinet by tomorrow to Governor Holiday and to the national security service, suggesting that the candidates for all the ministers posts have already been selected. Marlin emphasized that the governor is in charge of the next step in the process. Candidate-ministers will be screened by the national security service VDSM and by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors will examine whether candidates have a criminal record and whether they are under investigation, be it in St. Maarten or elsewhere. Marlin said that candidate-ministers also have…
GREAT BAY – “I will make every effort to make sure that the progress we have made during the past ten months continues with the next government,” outgoing Minister Emil Lee (Public Health, Social Development and Labor) said at yesterday’s council of Ministers press briefing. “I am planning a very public handover of my ministry to my successor with a detailed report about what we have done. This way I want to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible,” Lee said. The minister reminded journalists that when he came into office ten months ago, there was not even…
